فصل 5

Chapter 5: Housewarming

“Any idea where to go?” I asked Jack as I slammed the car door.

“We can go to my place,” he said.

Jack’s house sounded as good a place to hide as any—especially since I couldn’t think of anywhere else. “Great,” I said. “Your place.” “Don’t mind my old man,” he said. “He drinks sometimes.” He rolled down his car’s window, then pounded on his door to get Wade’s attention. “We’re going to my house.” “Got it,” Wade said.

Jack drove around to the front of the building, waited for a car to pass, then pulled out into the street with Wade following closely behind.

Jack lived on the other side of Meridian High School, about two miles from my apartment. The last time I’d been to his house was when I had gone to ask him for a ride to Pasadena. I wondered how many times since then he’d regretted saying yes.

As we pulled down the road to his house, Jack suddenly shouted, “No!” It took me a moment to understand what was wrong. But when I saw it, my heart froze. Jack’s house had burned to the ground.

Jack hit the gas and sped down the street, slamming on the brakes in front of what was left of the house. He pulled his parking brake and jumped out.

At first, none of us said anything. Then Taylor said softly, “Do you think it was an accident?” I put a hand on my face to stop my jaw from ticking. “No.” “It’s no accident,” Zeus said. “The Elgen love fires. It hides their tracks.” I got out of the car and walked to Jack’s side. His hands were balled up in fists and his face was tight and angry. All that was left of his house were the concrete sidewalk and foundation. Even the cars in the yard had been torched. The area was cordoned off with yellow caution tape.

“I’m sure your dad got out,” I said.

Jack thrust his hands deep into his pockets. “Unless he was drunk. Like he usually is.” I didn’t know what to say, so finally I just settled on “I’m so sorry.” My words sounded ridiculously inadequate. “This is my fault.” “Did you set fire to my house?” Jack asked.

“No. I just never should have gotten you involved.” “I made my choices,” Jack said. “I’ll stand by them.” He turned to me. “It’s not your fault; it’s Hatch’s. And he’s gonna pay.” * * *

We stood there for another minute or so without speaking, the only sound was the whisper of a late afternoon breeze. Then I turned and walked back to the car. As I climbed in I looked back at Taylor. She was clearly frightened.

“Is he okay?” she asked.

I shook my head.

Jack returned a few minutes later. After he’d shut the door Zeus said, “Sorry, man.” Jack just grunted.

Then Taylor said, “I need to go home.”

I turned to her. “If they were watching my place, Ostin’s, and Jack’s, you can bet they’re going to be watching yours, too.” “I don’t care!” she said. “I need to see my house.” “Taylor, think about it. If they capture us, your parents won’t have a chance. The best thing we can do for them is be careful.” She turned away from me angrily.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

After a moment she replied, “I know.”

Jack started the car. Then he said, “We can drive by and see if Taylor’s house is okay. If everyone stays down, they probably won’t know it’s us.” Taylor thought about this, then said, “Okay.” “Then we can go to my sister’s place,” he said. “She has a tanning salon about a mile and a half from here. She’ll let us hide out.” Then he said in a softer voice, “Maybe she’ll know what happened to my dad.” He looked back. “Any objections?” Going by Taylor’s house was risky, but she was so upset I couldn’t bring myself to say no. “Let’s go,” I said.

Jack pulled his car around until his and Wade’s windows were adjacent to each other. “Head over to my sister’s tanning salon, we’ll meet you there.” “Where are you going?” Wade asked. He looked as shocked as we did.

“It doesn’t matter,” Jack said. “Just go.” “Shouldn’t we stick together?”

“No,” Jack said, and rolled up his window. He turned back to Taylor. “Where do you live?” “Behind the school,” she said.

Taylor lived only a few minutes away, and none of us said a word the whole way over. As Ostin liked to say, the tension was as thick as good bacon. I knew Taylor was afraid of what she might find. What if her house was burned down too?

Jack turned onto her street, driving a little below the speed limit to avoid drawing attention to us. Ostin and I crouched down in the back, though I could still see out. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Taylor’s house. Everything looked normal, though I noticed a white van with tinted windows parked at the end of the street. Taylor stared silently as we drove by.

After we had passed, Taylor said, “I think I saw my mom.” There was longing in her voice. And pain. But at least she wasn’t so afraid anymore.

“Seen enough?” Jack asked.

“Yes,” Taylor said softly. “Thank you.”

He picked up speed and headed off to his sister’s tanning salon.